Paint colors as a clue to the past

[RedUtilityTruck]

Hello all,

First post here. I am in the process of rebuilding the front axle on my M37, and find myself wondering what it's service history may have been. I realize the color of military paint is not going to reveal much, but I am interested to hear what you all may know about the colors these trucks wear.

So far I have seen what appears to be black paint on the frame, that is a single coat. No overspray or any other color present. So I am guessing the original frame color was black from dodge?

The fenders have some Olive drab on the underside. As do the brake drums. There is also the presence of a nice Blue color on parts of the brake backing plate. The Front differential housing has an abundance of blue on the housing, right down to ALL SIDES of the studs holding the differential and axle gears in place. No other color or overspray present.

Does this suggest that the first coat of paint was blue, and the truck was a navy vehicle? I've seen no green or evidence of Olive drab under the blue on the front axle. Did these trucks get swapped from one branch of the military to the next, or did some Navy vehicles get repainted Olive Drab and still used in the navy?

[Murf]

The black would be from the factory and once it hit the depot for a rebuild time masking meant don't paint the glass. Everything else was subject to overspray. If the frame was intentionally being painted, it would just be body color. The blue, aka. Strata Blue was usually the Air Force.

[RedUtilityTruck]

Thanks Murf.

The coverage with blue paint is impressive. NO IDEA how they managed to get that much paint on the front differential, as I always struggle with shadow spots.

I will go looking for some Strata Blue.

[m-37Bruce]

Amber Front Marker Lamps One.jpg (97.26 KiB) Viewed 497 times

What color is your truck now? I too had the black frame, and lots of OD after that, OD now. My truck was issued to the Department of the Navy January 1953. I lied about always being OD, the Powhatan County Volunteer FD painted it red in 1971. It has been OD since 1999.

I've got a few pic of her in her red outfit, but could not find 'em?